There is a need for mechanisms that provide for high resolution imaging and tracking. There is also a need for mechanisms that provide for optical routing and switching. Additionally, there is a need for mechanisms that facilitate optical computation.
Relevant prior art includes:
U.S. Pat. No. 3861788January, 1975Webster359/889U.S. Pat. No. 4084909April, 1978Mathisen356/332U.S. Pat. No. 4176916December, 1979Carpenter359/589U.S. Pat. No. 4448500May, 1984Marling359/503U.S. Pat. No. 4738535April, 1988Webster356/418U.S. Pat. No. 4930883June, 1990Salzman359/419U.S. Pat. No. 5335082August, 1994Sable347/232U.S. Pat. No. 5371543December, 1994Anderson348/270U.S. Pat. No. 5508844September, 1994Blake359/503U.S. Pat. No. 5748812May, 1998Buchin385/018U.S. Pat. No. 6498682December, 2002Glance359/578U.S. Pat. No. 6567225May, 2003Derian359/892Other Publications:    Ron Wodaski, The New CCD Astronomy, 2002, The New Astronomy Press, pp. 78-80, 322-323, 328-330    Julian Brown, The Quest for the Quantum Computer, 2000, Touchstone, pp. 61-71Prior art suffers from a number of disadvantages:            (a) different devices are required to be used to perform all of the desired functions;        (b) cost is increased when requiring several devices to perform the desired functions;        (c) an increased number of devices in an optical system can cause an increased and unwanted amount of flexure in the optical system;        (d) an increased number of devices in an optical system can cause an unwanted lengthening of the light path in the optical system;        (e) on-axis optical guiding is not achieved;        (f) simultaneous imaging and optical guiding from the whole field is not achieved;        (g) switching from imaging mode to viewing mode may require a component of the device to be physically moved;        (h) existing optical switches are not highly configurable;        (i) optical logic gates with reversible and conservative properties are not yet commercially practical; and        (j) electronic logic gates are susceptible to electromagnetic radiation interference.        